Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.

The Enterprise approaches The Great Barrier.

THE PLOT

Nimbus III is a planet located in the Neutral Zone. It is called "the planet of galactic peace," a world which the Federation, Klingon, and Romulan governments have agreed to develop in concert. In reality, it's a planet-sized garbage dump, its colonists the dregs of all three empires, its ambassadors washed-up failures at the ends of once-promising careers.  The development of the planet was forgotten almost as quickly as it began, and the entire project has become a largely forgotten backwater.

Which makes it all the more surprising when Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill), a renegade Vulcan, raises an army from among the planet's unwashed and holds the three ambassadors hostage. Kirk and the new Enterprise are dispatched on a rescue mission.  But this new Enterprise is a disaster itself, a ship on which nothing seems to function properly. With Klaa (Todd Bryant), a bored Klingon captain eager to use this situation to test his combat mettle against Kirk, the challenges are already mounting.

And that's before they encounter Sybok, and realize that this entire mission is playing right into his plans!

Shatner braces himself for the first round of reviews.

CHARACTERS

Capt. Kirk: After a near fatal accident at the beginning of the film, Kirk reveals that he knew he wasn't going to die. He tells Spock and McCoy that he has always known that he will die alone. This is echoed at the end of the film, when he tells Spock he was sure he was going to die and Spock replies that this was impossible, because Kirk was "never alone." Kirk fights Sybok for control of the ship until they breach the Galactic Barrier. Then he stops fighting - Having encountered the unknown, Kirk is every bit as eager to explore it as Sybok is.

Spock: His surprise at seeing Sybok on the monitor is too evident for Kirk and McCoy not to catch. It's immediately obvious that while he is telling them the truth about Sybok's background, he is at the same time withholding something. That comes back to haunt all of them, when Spock disobeys the order to shoot Sybok and then reveals that the renegade is his half-brother. Spock refuses Sybok's entreaties to join him, even after he removes Spock's pain. He declares that he has found his place. His loyalty to Kirk is a part of his identity, and Sybok's mental powers can't disguise that fact.

Dr. McCoy: "Human life is far too precious to risk on crazy stunts!" Though the campfire scene is ludicrously overlong, McCoy's declaration of the value of human life is one of (too) few moments of value. The Razzie Awards, in their enthusiasm for damning this picture, nominated DeForest Kelly for Worst Supporting Actor. They couldn't have been further off the mark, in my opinion. Despite the script's focus being Kirk and Spock, it's McCoy who gets the best character moments. I even enjoyed his "group therapy" session with Sybok. Though the euthanasia backstory may be ham-handed, Kelly's knack for making his material seem authentic manages to make it work in a way that most of the surrounding material doesn't.

The Enterprise Crew: The script has little use for the supporting cast and doesn't know what to do with them.  The results are dismal. Scotty at least gets a few decent bits, and is the only supporting crew member to not instantly turn on Kirk when cured of his "pain." But even he bashes his head  into a bulkhead for the sake of a cartoon pratfall.  Meanwhile, Uhura spends the film coming onto Scotty after no previous film or television episode indicated the slightest hint of romantic feeling; and Sulu and Chekov mimic a blizzard, apparently forgetting that starships have sensors. The entire crew turns on Kirk the instant Sybok works his magic on them ... which, once it's revealed that Sybok isn't actually brainwashing anyone, makes no sense given that these same people were willing to throw away their careers for Kirk just two films earlier!

Sybok leads Kirk and his crew into the unknown.

THOUGHTS

After two movies directed by Leonard Nimoy, it was agreed that William Shatner should get a chance to sit in the director's chair. The results were... noticeably less successful. Star Trek V became the first film in the series to be considered a failure, and the critics were even less kind to it than the box office was. Nor has time granted it much respectability. This is very much the black sheep of the TOS films, widely regarded as the worst Trek movie with the original cast.

It should be said that Shatner's directing is competent on a technical level. Despite some weak effects, the film isn't really any worse visually than Star Trek III. Unfortunately, Shatner lacks Nimoy's ability to work with actors.  Laurence Luckinbill gives a surprisingly commanding performance as Sybok, but I suspect that was all Luckinbill rising to the role he was given.  With the exception of DeForest Kelly, the regulars give their weakest performances of any of the feature films.  And even a veteran character actor like David Warner seems basically uninterested in his (very weak) role.

The movie's most significant problem, as with most failed films, is the script.  The story often grinds to a halt in the first half for the sake of material that is either irrelevant, repetitive, or ill-advised. Some of this was studio-imposed.  The success of Star Trek IV was credited in large part to the film's humor. It was therefore decided that whatever else it was going to be, Star Trek V needed to Be Funny.

This creates several problems.  Star Trek V's narrative is heavily centered around a literal quest to find God and unlock the secret questions of creation.  This does not naturally lead to comedy situations, which means that the content and tone are at odds from the get-go.  Beyond that, the way in which comedy is applied is strained.  The previous movie never forgot that the situation was deadly serious to the characters.  Kirk and his crew weren't running around 20th century San Francisco cracking jokes; they were trying to get on with the mission as efficiently as possible.  The laughs came from how incompatible the characters were with the time and place in which they were stuck.

In this movie, the comedy arises not from situation and character, but from an externally-imposed need for "funny bits." The results are largely bad: The infamous Uhura "fan dance" scene; the Sulu/Chekov "blizzard" bit, which may be a series low for both characters; or Scotty's Clouseau-like head bash.

A little after the halfway mark, the movie finally stops grabbing for laughs and lets the story and characters take themselves seriously. I doubt it's a coincidence that this is where it finally gets better. A lot better. Once the jokes drop away, the last 45 minutes is able to establish a reasonable dramatic rhythm. There's some good character interplay, such as Spock's declaration to Sybok of having found his place or Kirk's statement that Spock and McCoy are his family. And if the climax falls a bit flat, it's still adequate on its own terms.

Looking into the face of God(?)

OVERALL

Once it became obvious that the comedy didn't work and made a mess of the pacing, Paramount should have authorized a ruthless re-edit to tighten things up. Without the misfired gags slowing the pace and annoying the audience, this could have been reduced to a lean and passably absorbing 90 minutes. It would still be noticeably weaker than the preceding trilogy, with a misjudged structure that keeps the story from even starting until after the halfway mark... But with the bad comedy removed and the pace tightened, I doubt it would be even half as badly-regarded as ended up being the case.

As it stands, the first hour lives down to the movie's dismal reputation, turning the viewing experience into a grim slog.  Things do eventually get better, though, and viewers who make it through will be rewarded with some decent character scenes that allow it to close on a pleasant note.

If that doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement... Well, it isn't. The Final Frontier is by far the weakest TOS film, and even a ruthless edit would only downplay its flaws. I have no hate for the film - but with the best will in the world, it's a long way from being a good movie.


Overall Rating: 2/10.

Previous Movie: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Next Movie: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country


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